Wayne L. Wilson Letter

As a child I loved spending endless hours in the library. I was also an avid comic book reader. Sometimes when I couldn’t wait for a new edition of my favorite books, I’d often take the same characters from these comics, draw them, and develop entirely new stories. I am an only child so I learned to master the art of self-entertainment. After seeing a movie I loved, I’d frequently sit in my bedroom, rewrite the movie, and then try to act out all the actor’s parts. When I reflect on it, I suppose it was all about creating my own universe. more

Author Letter

As a child I loved spending endless hours in the library. I was also an avid comic book reader. Sometimes when
I couldn’t wait for a new edition of my favorite books, I’d often take the same characters from these comics, draw them, and develop entirely new stories. I am an only child so I learned to master the art of self-entertainment. After seeing a movie I loved, I’d frequently sit in my bedroom, rewrite the movie, and then try to act out all the actor’s parts. When I reflect on it, I suppose it was all about creating my own universe.

Like most boys my age I talked about growing up to be a fireman, policemen, race car driver, professional athlete, musician, whatever seemed cool…and when I grew older and seemingly more practical, it was great to espouse that I planned to become a lawyer or doctor…it sounded good…but it wasn’t truly where my heart was.
It was writing, being a writer, that’s the one that always intrigued me and remained locked in the recesses of my mind. But I came from an environment of hardworking people who emphasized the necessity of stability in life, finding a great job, and making money. Working as a writer was like a foreign concept. Creativity was viewed as more of a hobby. And although I rebelled against it because I was determined to pursue writing as a career, whenever the rent came up, and the noble concept of being a writer failed to pay the bills, working 9-5 was suddenly not so unappealing.

However, I was able to carve out a career for fifteen years that was truly satisfying and actually kept me ensconced in the creative field. I co-owned a publishing company that specialized in greeting cards and related gift items. One of my responsibilities was as an Editorial Director, thus, I was able to utilize some of my writing skills – creating greeting card verses, captions, catalogs, business proposals, and so on. I wasn’t able to capitalize on the full extent of my writing skills, but at least it was something. Oh yes, there were times that I tried to write short stories and work on a novel on the side, but after 10-16 hours days as an owner I usually fell asleep at my desk, sometimes with my fingers in place on the keyboard.

When the time arrived to close the business and move on I discovered I was truly at a crossroads in my life. With the knowledge and wisdom I had gained as a entrepreneur I had the opportunity to enter the corporate world and make some serious dollars or take some steps backwards and once again pursue a career as solely a writer. Quite honestly, although it was a great experience owning my own business, one that I will never regret, I was suffering from burnout and although it was considered the impractical thing to do, I felt at this stage in my life it was time to pursue the life of being a writer. I might never have that chance again and that’s what I did. During the transition, I had to take quite a few steps backwards to move forward, but it is my passion and I am happy to be here.

I’ve found that I have the ability to write in almost any milieu if necessary. I’ve written in offices and warehouses with loud voices, music blasting, people shipping product, and madly dashing about. I’ve written in tiny one-person-only standing rooms, and in funky, cold garages with a little space heater that warmed up my feet but left the rest of me feeling like a Popsicle. But that’s okay, it was part of the process. On another note, when I worked on my first novel, I wrote the majority of it near the beach, and at times by candlelight, which seemed to fuel my spiritual inspiration.

There are a plethora of writers who have greatly influenced me, but the ones that immediately come to mind are James Baldwin, Ray Bradbury, Thomas Paine, Nadine Gordimer, August Wilson, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Harper Lee. Although I’ve written in a variety of genres, the types of books I enjoy writing are what I call a mixture of sociocultural realism and fantasy.